The new USB is part of the "Star Wars" mimobot series that Mimoco is showing at this week's DigitalLife in New York City. The drives will be available in 1, 2 and 4 GB capacities, and come loaded with "Star Wars" avatars, trailers, sound bites and wallpaper, according to Mimoco.

The new line of drives will be available in January 2007, though preorders for the Vader USB can be made now on the Mimoco site. Pricing for the preorder Vader is $79.95 for the 1GB version, $119.95 for 2GB and $169.95 for 4GB.

Unfortunately, the likeness is more laughable than Death Star imposing. The drive looks like the Vader equivalent of a large-headed Muppet Baby, rather than a "Star Wars" action figure.

Mimoco has also announced that it will be releasing three more characters in due time. Big-headed Han or Jar Jar Binks anyone? My guess is on Yoda.

Unlike Leia's own little USB-drive-thingy, this one will probably not play holographic messages to undiscovered Jedi talent.

About the author

In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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